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American Morning
America Votes 2004: Democrats Debate
Aired September 26, 2003 - 07:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: General Wesley Clark was not just the newest presidential candidate, but the newest Democrat at yesterday's debate in New York. Clark was reminded, though, of his past support two years ago for Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MAY, 2001)
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I'm very glad we got the great team in office, men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Paul O'Neill, people I know very well, our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we've got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Amateur videotape there back in May of 2001 at a Republican fund raiser.
Now for the field, and how this may or may not impact it, based on the debate yesterday and the arguments going forward, our senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield back with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
Four months before the attacks of 9/11. Can he shake it?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we're going to find out, because we didn't find out yesterday because the other candidates, as you'll see in a minute, were perfectly content to just let Wesley Clark have his moment on the stage and direct their fire elsewhere.
What did happen, though, is the very first question out of the box yesterday, Brian Williams summarized that tape and said to Wesley Clark, well, are you sure you're a Democrat? Which gave General Clark a chance to give this kind of generic Democratic plea. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARK: We elected a president we thought was a compassionate conservative. Instead, we got neither conservatism nor compassion. We got a man who recklessly cut taxes. We got a man who recklessly took us into war with Iraq.
I am pro-choice. I am pro-affirmative action. I'm pro- environment and pro-health.
I believe the United States should engage with allies. We should be a good player in the international community. And we should use force only as a last resort. That's why I'm proud to be a Democrat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: All right, I guarantee you that in future debates the effusiveness of General Clark's praise for the Republican team is not going to go unnoticed by his rivals.
The other part that was interesting was there was some question about, well, is Wesley Clark up-to-speed enough on matters economical, which was the subject of the debate? And he was pushed a little bit yesterday on one specific area, namely: Would you let people invest some of their social security money into the markets? Here's what General Clark did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'll give you an extra 30. Did you get the answer you wanted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. General, would you allow...
CLARK: Well, let me be more explicit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... or do you favor individuals being able to invest?
CLARK: Let me be more explicit. I think it's great if individuals invest in the stock market, but not as a substitute for ensuring the solvency of social security. We're going to get social security right first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, one of the reasons why General Clark, I think, was let off the hook was that a lot of the Democrats (UNINTELLIGIBLE) were aiming their fire at Howard Dean, who has surged to the top of the field. The testiest exchanges were -- all involved Governor Dean, and here's one in particular where Dick Gephardt, Congressman Gephardt and Dean have at it. Let's take a look.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DICK GEPHARDT (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we need a candidate against George Bush that can take the fight to him on it, not someone who agreed with the Gingrich Republicans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Dean.
GOV. HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is flat-out false, and I'm ashamed that you would compare me with Newt Gingrich. Nobody up here deserves to be compared to Newt Gingrich. The fact is that what I -- first of all, I did say Medicare was a dreadful program, because it's administered dreadfully. I have done more for health insurance in this country, Dick Gephardt, frankly than you ever have, because I've delivered it to a lot of seniors and a lot of young people. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In defense of Dick Gephardt, I didn't hear him say he was like Newt Gingrich. I heard him say that he stood with Newt Gingrich, when we were struggling to hold on to Medicare. That's a policy difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: If you want to know why Gephardt and Kerry were anxious to take on Dean, Dean threatens Gephardt in Iowa, which is considered a state he has to win, and Dean threatens Kerry in New Hampshire.
And in a few days, we're going to find out how much money Howard Dean raised in the third quarter this year. The expectations now are it could be as much as 14 or 15 million.
HEMMER: Reports say it's quite a bundle, yes. What about lighter moments yesterday? Did we see many?
GREENFIELD: Yes, we did. I think, you know, Joe Lieberman -- Senator Lieberman, who people don't realize does have -- he has kind of a neat sense of humor, and he clearly was ready with one particular line that I want to show you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the Bush administration, the foxes are guarding the foxes, and the middle-class hens are getting plucked. I want to make clear I said "plucked."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: And, of course, no debate is complete in a Democratic debate without a one-liner from the master of them, and that is the Reverend Al Sharpton. Here's how he ended his appearance yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today is Thursday. If you read "The Wall Street Journal" and the "Amsterdam News," you wouldn't know you're in the same town. We need to really talk about that in America, and a lot of people don't want to do that because it's politically risky. Tonight, we have eight career politicians, an officer and a gentleman. This is the Democratic Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: But the tape you ran, Bill, I think is -- it should not go unmentioned one more time. We didn't know the full dimension of what General Clark had said when this debate began, but this is a comment made in May of 2002. So, he can't say, well, I was praising...
HEMMER: May of 2001.
GREENFIELD: Oh, 1, sorry. Thank you.
HEMMER: Four months prior to 9/11.
GREENFIELD: Right. So, he can't say I was praising them for their reaction to 9/11. When he talks about a reckless tax cut, that tax cut was already moving its way through Congress then. And it's one thing to say I liked Ronald Reagan. You could make the argument, well, millions of Democrats did. You'd better get them back. But I'm not sure whether the Democratic primary base is going to be that tolerant about it, and that's going to be General Clark's first real challenge: How to square his, I'm a Democrat, here's what I believe, with those comments.
HEMMER: Or he comes back and counters and says, hey, everything changed on 9/11, including him.
GREENFIELD: Yes.
HEMMER: We'll see if it flies.
GREENFIELD: Well, we shall see. I think this is...
HEMMER: All right.
GREENFIELD: I think this is the first real test he's going to face.
HEMMER: Interesting. Thank you, Jeff. Have a great weekend.
GREENFIELD: You, too.
HEMMER: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 26, 2003 - 07:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: General Wesley Clark was not just the newest presidential candidate, but the newest Democrat at yesterday's debate in New York. Clark was reminded, though, of his past support two years ago for Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MAY, 2001)
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I'm very glad we got the great team in office, men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Paul O'Neill, people I know very well, our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we've got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Amateur videotape there back in May of 2001 at a Republican fund raiser.
Now for the field, and how this may or may not impact it, based on the debate yesterday and the arguments going forward, our senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield back with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
Four months before the attacks of 9/11. Can he shake it?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we're going to find out, because we didn't find out yesterday because the other candidates, as you'll see in a minute, were perfectly content to just let Wesley Clark have his moment on the stage and direct their fire elsewhere.
What did happen, though, is the very first question out of the box yesterday, Brian Williams summarized that tape and said to Wesley Clark, well, are you sure you're a Democrat? Which gave General Clark a chance to give this kind of generic Democratic plea. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARK: We elected a president we thought was a compassionate conservative. Instead, we got neither conservatism nor compassion. We got a man who recklessly cut taxes. We got a man who recklessly took us into war with Iraq.
I am pro-choice. I am pro-affirmative action. I'm pro- environment and pro-health.
I believe the United States should engage with allies. We should be a good player in the international community. And we should use force only as a last resort. That's why I'm proud to be a Democrat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: All right, I guarantee you that in future debates the effusiveness of General Clark's praise for the Republican team is not going to go unnoticed by his rivals.
The other part that was interesting was there was some question about, well, is Wesley Clark up-to-speed enough on matters economical, which was the subject of the debate? And he was pushed a little bit yesterday on one specific area, namely: Would you let people invest some of their social security money into the markets? Here's what General Clark did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'll give you an extra 30. Did you get the answer you wanted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. General, would you allow...
CLARK: Well, let me be more explicit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... or do you favor individuals being able to invest?
CLARK: Let me be more explicit. I think it's great if individuals invest in the stock market, but not as a substitute for ensuring the solvency of social security. We're going to get social security right first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, one of the reasons why General Clark, I think, was let off the hook was that a lot of the Democrats (UNINTELLIGIBLE) were aiming their fire at Howard Dean, who has surged to the top of the field. The testiest exchanges were -- all involved Governor Dean, and here's one in particular where Dick Gephardt, Congressman Gephardt and Dean have at it. Let's take a look.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DICK GEPHARDT (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we need a candidate against George Bush that can take the fight to him on it, not someone who agreed with the Gingrich Republicans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Dean.
GOV. HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is flat-out false, and I'm ashamed that you would compare me with Newt Gingrich. Nobody up here deserves to be compared to Newt Gingrich. The fact is that what I -- first of all, I did say Medicare was a dreadful program, because it's administered dreadfully. I have done more for health insurance in this country, Dick Gephardt, frankly than you ever have, because I've delivered it to a lot of seniors and a lot of young people. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In defense of Dick Gephardt, I didn't hear him say he was like Newt Gingrich. I heard him say that he stood with Newt Gingrich, when we were struggling to hold on to Medicare. That's a policy difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: If you want to know why Gephardt and Kerry were anxious to take on Dean, Dean threatens Gephardt in Iowa, which is considered a state he has to win, and Dean threatens Kerry in New Hampshire.
And in a few days, we're going to find out how much money Howard Dean raised in the third quarter this year. The expectations now are it could be as much as 14 or 15 million.
HEMMER: Reports say it's quite a bundle, yes. What about lighter moments yesterday? Did we see many?
GREENFIELD: Yes, we did. I think, you know, Joe Lieberman -- Senator Lieberman, who people don't realize does have -- he has kind of a neat sense of humor, and he clearly was ready with one particular line that I want to show you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the Bush administration, the foxes are guarding the foxes, and the middle-class hens are getting plucked. I want to make clear I said "plucked."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: And, of course, no debate is complete in a Democratic debate without a one-liner from the master of them, and that is the Reverend Al Sharpton. Here's how he ended his appearance yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today is Thursday. If you read "The Wall Street Journal" and the "Amsterdam News," you wouldn't know you're in the same town. We need to really talk about that in America, and a lot of people don't want to do that because it's politically risky. Tonight, we have eight career politicians, an officer and a gentleman. This is the Democratic Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: But the tape you ran, Bill, I think is -- it should not go unmentioned one more time. We didn't know the full dimension of what General Clark had said when this debate began, but this is a comment made in May of 2002. So, he can't say, well, I was praising...
HEMMER: May of 2001.
GREENFIELD: Oh, 1, sorry. Thank you.
HEMMER: Four months prior to 9/11.
GREENFIELD: Right. So, he can't say I was praising them for their reaction to 9/11. When he talks about a reckless tax cut, that tax cut was already moving its way through Congress then. And it's one thing to say I liked Ronald Reagan. You could make the argument, well, millions of Democrats did. You'd better get them back. But I'm not sure whether the Democratic primary base is going to be that tolerant about it, and that's going to be General Clark's first real challenge: How to square his, I'm a Democrat, here's what I believe, with those comments.
HEMMER: Or he comes back and counters and says, hey, everything changed on 9/11, including him.
GREENFIELD: Yes.
HEMMER: We'll see if it flies.
GREENFIELD: Well, we shall see. I think this is...
HEMMER: All right.
GREENFIELD: I think this is the first real test he's going to face.
HEMMER: Interesting. Thank you, Jeff. Have a great weekend.
GREENFIELD: You, too.
HEMMER: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
